UNITED STATES─I will be the first person to admit that I have very little down time in my life, when you factor in work and school, I’m lucky if I get one day off. The thing about having that one day off is I like to completely detox myself from any stressors in life. I cannot stand when people bother or annoy me with stupid things. This might sound blunt or rude, but I don’t care. If I’m telling you I don’t want to be bothered, it means just that: don’t bother me.
Let me have the 12 hours or 24 hours of free time I have for myself. Don’t text me, don’t email, and worst of all don’t get an attitude when I don’t reply. I’m off, LEAVE ME ALONE! There are so many people out there who assume all Americans walk around with their phone or tablet 24/7. If you think I’m that person, you’d be wrong. I’m not glued to technology, and I’m happy I’m not.
I hear people I know talk about social media to the point that it feels like a job. Who the hell sits on the phone responding to every Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and every other social media outlet available? There are a lot, especially the youngsters, and millennials who are constantly placed in that bubble. I’m not that person people, I like to detach from technology, social media and all things where we might be glued to a small screen.
For me my down time is watching movies. It is a rarity for me because I don’t have as much time as I would like to have, but for the first time in ages, I had a completely free Saturday, where I didn’t have to run any errands. I honestly could not believe it and it took me by major surprise. I had all this down time, and my mind was racing a variety of things that I could do. I settled on watching a few movies that I have seen. I used to be the person hitting the movie theater at least once a week, but with my hectic work schedule right now, I’m lucky if I get to the movies twice a month. I watched three movies in a single day, you might say well that’s 4-5 hours at most, not quite because the movies I watched were at least 2-3 hours each, and the level of escapism I experienced I’m not even able to describe in words. I was simply at peace. All these stressors, things of worry vanished into thin air for a few hours, and I absolutely needed it.
Everyone needs that down time, that helps you regenerate your battery and to refresh your mind. Other ways of having down time might include cooking, writing, cleaning or perhaps the one that so many people do all the time: exercise. Yeah, the exercise notion I get somewhat, but I doubt every single person wants to do that when they have free time. Gaming is another thing that delivers me a level of escape that allows my mind to completely cut off any stressors in life. Don’t ask me what it is about gaming, perhaps it takes me back to my childhood.
What I want each of you to know is down time is good for the body and soul. It allows you to relax the mind. I know I’m not the only person who wishes we could just turn off the switch to the mind sometimes to allow you to be worry free. Unfortunately, life does not work that way America.
Written By Zoe Mitchell
